What devices would others recommend to avoid transcoding when playing files that have been encoded in H.265/HEVC format?
I’ve read a few posts suggesting the Roku 4, NVIDIA Shield and the Nexus Player (now discontinued). Any others that people might recommend? Of the ones listed, is there one that people would recommend? Some of the shows that I download are starting to be encoded in H.265/HEVC and I’d like to get a device that will play them natively without transcoding.
Hi
The only way to stop 4K from transcoding that I know of is…
Encode your 4k content to
mp4 container
h265 video codec
ac3 audio codec
I know this works and my 4K content direct plays to my Roku 4s.
BTW. Do not use subtitles as that causes EVERYTHING to transcode…
The Roku 4 is no longer available & has been replaced by new models. The new top of the range is the Roku Ultra which plays h.265 as I believe does the Roku Premiere +
The Amazon Fire TV 4K plays h.265.
Interesting - thanks for the replies everyone. @jjrjr1: Based on what you said, will this type of content be transcoded regardless of the streaming device? This is one of the shows that I download that’s currently being transcoded.
As I learned a while ago. (This probably has not changed.)
If you try to play h265 with aac audio (Like your example above) Plex will always transcode this.
And BTW I assume the same specs exist for Roku Ultra and other similar 4K capable clients.
Try re-encoding that file with AC3 audio and remove subtitles unless you are letting handbrake burn them into the file.
Oh and BTW… Do not expect 4K to play in any browser without transcoding.
And be sure your server is cat6 connected and, if possible, your client device also cat6 connected. (WiFi at 4K bitrates may also cause extreme buffering)
@jjrjr1 said:
If you try to play h265 with aac audio (Like your example above) Plex will always transcode this.
Try re-encoding that file with AC3 audio and remove subtitles unless you are letting handbrake burn them into the file.
This is good advise - if you are using the official Plex ‘Smart TV app’.
But it is a non-issue with the device I proposed above 
@OttoKerner
This is also true using the official plex client on Roku.
I suspect the same with firestick et. al.
What device did you suggest??
@jjrjr1 said:
What device did you suggest??
The Odroid C2. It runs a (almost) full OpenPHT, so all these restrictions don’t apply.
Just follow my link above, the supported codecs are listed in there.
The subtitles will get you on this one most likely. Also, multichannel AAC may not be allowed on some devices.
@jjrjr1 said:
This is also true using the official plex client on Roku.
I suspect the same with firestick et. al.
@OttoKerner said:
The Odroid C2. It runs a (almost) full OpenPHT, so all these restrictions don’t apply.
Just follow my link above, the supported codecs are listed in there.
Thanks again for the replies everyone. @jjrjr1 and @OttoKerner: Am I interpreting what you wrote correctly and that my options so far if I want to avoid transcoding are: Roku Premiere +, Roku Ultra, ODROID C2 and Amazon Fire TV Stick (maybe)?
@wwwKris said:
Thanks again for the replies everyone. @jjrjr1 and @OttoKerner: Am I interpreting what you wrote correctly and that my options so far if I want to avoid transcoding are: Roku Premiere +, Roku Ultra, ODROID C2 and Amazon Fire TV Stick (maybe)?
I can only speak about the Odroid C2.
Thanks OttoKerner. @jjrjr1, did I understand you correctly that the Roku Premiere + and the Roku Ultra work without transcoding or will content like the one I posted still transcode? Thanks!
As @OttoKerner said. Multi channel AAC will transcode on those devices as I mentioned.
If you want 4K with 5.1 to Direct Play on The Roku (And Probably the firestick also) you must encode as I suggested AC3 5.1 audio.
He did talk about the Odroid C2. I have no experience with that. Otto would know…
However, I think the OpenPHT solution does not work for me as I never watch my media on my PC.
The example you posted above has an AAC audio track in multichannel which plex must transcode in order to keep surround sound. The rub in the case of h.265 is that multichannel AAC is not defined… (As Far As I know this has not changed) So Plex transcodes both video and audio to re-mux the multi channel sound stream into the video (The reason was explained to me by a Plex developer once but the details were confusing to me.)
Hope this helps.
BTW you could use AAC 2 channel in your 4K rips and it should direct play… but you lose surround sound.
LOL… I spent days working on this exact issue and these were the results of what I learned during that exercise…
In fact for best 1080p performance (Direct Play) same format except use h.264 video codec.
Many more gotchas in this whole thing as there is no one common format that all clients can support.
@jjrjr1 said:
He did talk about the Odroid C2. I have no experience with that. Otto would know…
However, I think the OpenPHT solution does not work for me as I never watch my media on my PC.
OpenPHT runs on the Odroid C2
Thanks OttoKerner and jjrjr1. Based on this conversation, it looks like my only solution will be OpenPHT on the Odroid C2.
@OttoKerner, I had a read through the links you sent and I have a couple of questions if you don’t mind:
(1) I saw some references in the treads to the OpenPHT project struggling. I know PHT isn’t officially supported by Plex any more and has been replaced by Plex Player but is the OpenPHT project still going strong in your opinion?
(2) Would Plex Player on a Rasperry Pi 2 offer the same ability to avoid transcoding or is it only the OpenPHT/Odriod combination that will do that in your opinion?
(3) Is it difficult to set up?
(4) Do you have a recommendation for a small case and a remote?
@wwwKris said:
(1) I saw some references in the treads to the OpenPHT project struggling. I know PHT isn’t officially supported by Plex any more and has been replaced by Plex Player but is the OpenPHT project still going strong in your opinion?
Yes, definitely. It is based on Kodi, and there are no signs of the kodi development stopping any time soon.
If the Project should fail after all, you can still use a vanilla LibreELEC installation on the Odroid and then simply install the Plex4Kodi plugin into it.
(2) Would Plex Player on a Rasperry Pi 2 offer the same ability to avoid transcoding or is it only the OpenPHT/Odriod combination that will do that in your opinion?
No. The RaspBerryPi only supports H.264 video up to 1080p and a limited number of surround sound codecs for bitstreaming. Its cpu is that of a smartphone, so it must rely on the video decoder chips it has inbuilt.
That being said, it still surpasses many other Plex clients, like those for Chromesticks or some smart TVs.
(3) Is it difficult to set up?
No. You just load a small software which is used to prepare the microSD card. Then plug everything together and off you go.
(4) Do you have a recommendation for a small case and a remote?
You can buy specialised cases for the Odroid C2. There are often kits on offer which already contain everything you need. (Odroid, case, SD card, power adapter, HDMI cable)
As long as your TV supports HDMI-CEC you won’t be needing a separate remote.
Thanks OttoKener. I checked and my TV does support HDMI-CEC - called Anynet+ on Samsung TV’s and it was disabled by default but it is there. I’ll check out the Odroid kits.
